PfS unveils scope of new procurement review
24 November 2009
Partnerships for Schools (PfS) has today unveiled four main areas of inquiry which will be explored as part of a new Procurement Review designed to reduce both timescales and costs in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
Speaking at PfS’s second annual design conference, held at the British Museum, Chief Executive Tim Byles said that the new exercise would build upon the previous review which is already helping to reduce procurement timescales by up to two months and reducing costs across the programme by £250 million.
He added: “As I made clear at the time, the previous review resulted in significant time and cost savings, but we would keep our eyes resolutely fixed on streamlining processes further, cutting red tape and ensuring that every education pound is being well spent.
“Today I am pleased to share with the BSF community the four pillars which will form the foundations of our second procurement review, and which together will help us to make significant inroads towards the ultimate goal of a 52-week procurement.
“By exploring possible steps such as a centralised PQQ process, the use of exemplar sample designs, and looking again at where ICT procurement fits in the process could all hold the key to improved timeliness and cost effectiveness, ensuring pupils, teachers, parents and local communities benefit from new learning environments earlier than previously possible.”
The four areas of inquiry are:
1. A centralised Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) process: this would negate the need for bidders to go through the PQQ process each time they bid for a scheme which takes around 10 weeks off the 75-week procurement timeframe.
2. Sampling design in a different way: it is a legal requirement to test both the bidder and the bid, and so sampling designs will remain a key feature of the BSF procurement process. Options to be explored include the use of exemplar samples or reducing the number of sample designs required to one PFI school, with a schedule of rates for the Design & Build scheme.
3. ICT procurement: looking again at whether this can be done in a different way, including early funding for ICT in schools that are in later phases of BSF, and in what circumstances separate ICT will be permissible.
4. Improved timetabling: ensuring that BSF and key local authority committee meetings are synchonrised to help speed up decision making.
PfS will also be working closely with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to explore the possibility of introducing a model in which local authorities appoint a design team from a pre-selected framework to develop exemplar designs for the sample scheme in their BSF bid process.
Commenting on this proposal Tim Byles said: “The initial procurement review which took place in 2008 has already introduced a number of efficiencies to the processes that support BSF and streamlined how bidders’ designs are tested as part of that. With 44 deals now concluded, representing over £5bn of investment, the market is now maturing and we are in a position to introduce further improvements.
“Building on the useful work that has been done on proposals for “Smart PFI”over the past 3 years, we have established that there is no legal impediment to the final proposals produced by the RIBA. There remain a number of issues to resolve in terms of deliverability , for example ensuring continuous improvement; integration; how to test partnership working; and securing genuine risk transfer. Whilst not insignificant, these issues need not be insurmountable, and working with RIBA I look forward to exploring this approach as a live option going forward. We are looking to ensure that revised proposals for procurement for BSF will be useful in reuse of existing buildings that are not currently being used for education as well as refurbishing schools and new build solutions”
Under the final version of the RIBA’s Smart BSF model, bidders would be invited to bring innovation to the way the exemplar design is developed and delivered, without reducing the quality of the design. The developed design would then be taken forward by the selected bidder once they have been appointed.
Ruth Reed, President of the RIBA, said: “A good procurement process starts with good preparation by the client, ensuring maximum contact between the clients/users and the designers and proceeds efficiently to build an integrated design and construction team to deliver the project. ‘Smart PFI’ was the RIBA’s proposal to bring these principles to pubic private partnerships while adhering to European Procurement Rules. Having contributed to earlier reviews of BSF, we are pleased to be taking part in the current one. The bidding climate has changed and new priorities are emerging such as the need to recognise a larger element of refurbishment within BSF. We would also like to see opportunities in BSF to be open to smaller firms and new blood, particularly once a programme is established.”
Notes to Editors:
The Procurement Review for BSF projects in Wave 5 and beyond was formally approved in May 2006. More information is available at: http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/media/press/pr_2008-05-06-ProcurementReview.jsp
Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the government’s delivery agent for the full suite of capital investment programmes into schools, helping ensure that taxpayers get the best value from every education pound spent.
PfS was established in April 2004, and is a 170-strong organisation, with specialist expertise including educationalists, designers, ICT specialists, commercial managers and project management.
85 local authorities are now engaged in the BSF programme, with 26 Local Education Partnerships formed to deliver school building projects in these areas.
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. The aim is to rebuild or renew England’s state secondary schools estate during the lifetime of the programme.
The National Audit Office report into BSF, published in February 2009, stated that the programme is now being well managed and that PfS is keeping costs under control. It added: BSF schools have been built to a higher specification and space standards than previous schools.
